Matchmaker Sakura
by akuma-tan
Summary: Sakura tries to set up Gaara and Naruto but ends up mistakenly kissing one of them and has to frustratedly fix it. AU GaaNaru


Three friends sat together in class. Three in a row: a bubbly blonde, a perky pinkette and a quiet red-head.

Sakura had always known Naruto, he had had a weird little crush on her when they were little and she had found him beyond annoying, but it wasn't until his best friend (and the boy she had been crushing on) moved away that they became friends. They had both been upset and somehow bonded over their loss and since then, they had been inseparable.

They didn't meet Gaara until they started high school. Sakura had remembered hearing rumours that he was a cold hearted beast and was constantly getting into fights. How true these rumours were was debatable.

It was one morning when they were walking to class that they rounded a corner to be met by a circle of their classmates chanting a round of "Fight! Fight! Fight!". Wondering who could possibly be getting into a fight this early in the morning, the pair had pushed their way to the front of the crowd, stopping dead when they saw Gaara and Lee, who was known to be a black belt in more than one martial art. Naruto had growled, startling Sakura. She had thought maybe he had heard the rumours too when he stomped up to the two fighting and pulled Gaara back. Gaara resisted, kicking and struggling, but Naruto wouldn't let go. He looked round the group of classmates with a look of utter rage that Sakura had never seen before.

"You bastards! How can you stand here and encourage a fight like this!" He turned to Lee, "And you! You're a god damn black belt! You know damn well Gaara isn't going to win if you fight. He's just a kid, like us. And you can keep your effing rumours about him."

Gaara had stopped struggling during Naruto's tirade, realising with shock that Naruto was defending him.

The rest of the class had gone quiet too and none protested when Naruto pushed passed them, Gaara in tow, and grabbed Sakura's hand before leading the two of them away down the corridor.

Later that day, Naruto and Sakura had walked into maths to find Gaara sat where they would usually sit near the back of the class. He had looked almost nervous; like he wasn't sure he should be there. But when the pair had taken a seat on either side of him, grins plastered over their faces, he had given the smallest of smiles and they had introduced themselves properly.

From then on the three of them had become the best of friends.

xXx

Since meeting Gaara, Sakura had noticed subtle changes in her blonde friend. He no longer constantly reminded her about his crush he swears he still has for her, nor did he accept any dates from girls in their class. Not that she minded since it meant the three of them could hang out more. But she was starting to question his behaviour none the less.

"Gaara's rather beautiful isn't he."

Sakura jumped at the sudden statement and she glanced over to where Gaara was sat reading under one of the trees bordering the school grounds. She glanced up at Naruto, catching the way his eyes softened and a small smile made its way to his lips. It wasn't the first time he had announced something about their red haired friend, but each time she pretended she hadn't heard, thinking maybe Naruto had spoken out loud by accident. But it didn't change the fact that Naruto was so obviously in love with Gaara.

"You like him."

Naruto jumped at her accusation. "W-well yeah, he's my friend."

"No, I mean you _like_ him."

Sakura smirked as Naruto's face flushed 50 different shades of red before he replied.

"Sakura don't be silly," He gave an obviously fake laugh; "He's just a friend to me."

Sakura nodded, not the least bit convinced. Clearing her throat she placed a hand over her heart.

"Gaara's rather beautiful isn't he?" She mocked what he had just said in a sweet, love struck voice.

Naruto bit his lip.

"God Naruto, just tell him! You used to tell me you liked me all the time."

Naruto sighed and glanced back over at Gaara, only to jump when green eyes captured his own. What Sakura was saying was true. He did like Gaara. But Naruto was afraid. With Sakura he had always known she didn't like him back but with Gaara he sometimes wondered if there was a glimmer of hope or if it was his mind trying to tell him there was.

"Sakura… I just, I want to be sure I'm not going to be rejected, because Gaara is an important friend to me before anything else."

Sakura petted his hair gently. "Alright, I won't push you anymore." With that she wandered over to Gaara, a hint of a smirk on her lips.

She hadn't promised not to push Gaara though.

"Gaara, I need to talk to you privately."

Gaara looked up at her from his book with a puzzled look. They may have been friends but he and Sakura very rarely spent any time alone together without Naruto.

"It's something I'd rather Naruto didn't hear…yet."

Gaara nodded and slowly got to his feet, following Sakura into the school and to the empty music room.

He stared at her expectantly. It wouldn't be long before Naruto found them and he secretly didn't like leaving the blond by himself for too long.

Sakura folded her arms. "So I'll get straight to the point. Do you like Naruto?"

"Yes. He's my very important friend."

Sakura huffed out a sigh. His answer was near identical to Naruto's. She blinked as this thought crossed her mind. _Same answer, same feelings?_

She took a step closer to him and in a slightly quieter voice asked, "I meant do you love him?"

She had learnt a long time ago that Gaara didn't know much about the different kind of likes and so love was easier for him to grasp the meaning of in this context.

Her eyes danced with amusement as a slight blush briefly crossed Gaara's face.

"I…I suppose I do…"

Before Sakura could register what she was doing she had leapt at Gaara with a squeal and planted her lips on his. In his surprise Gaara had placed a hand on her back to steady her, lest she fall over and worsen the situation.

They jumped apart as they heard the door creak open and turned, eyes widening in surprise, to see Naruto standing in the doorway with the most heart breaking expression Sakura had ever seen on him. Even worse than the one he had when Sasuke moved away all those years ago.

"Naruto-" She was cut off as he whirled around and ran from them.

Sakura turned back to Gaara, a worried look on her face.

"Gaara… I'm sorry…"

Gaara shook his head. He didn't understand what had just happened. Why had Naruto looked so sad? And why was Sakura apologising to him?

xXx

Sakura sat between her two friends who were now, unfortunately, not on speaking terms. Or at least that's how it was from Naruto's side. Gaara wanted nothing more than to talk to his blond friend.

She sat in silence, dwelling on the thought that it was her fault they weren't talking anymore. It was her who had ruined their chances to be together. It was her who had kissed Gaara. And yet Naruto was still talking to her before as normal. With a jolt she realised it was because he trusted her too much. He trusted her so much he was willing to believe it was Gaara who had kissed her. And right there, in the middle of maths, she burst into tears. Not little silent trickles she could wipe away or hide behind her hands, but a great sobbing breathy cry that had every face in the class turning to look as she buried her face in her arms in an attempt to silence herself.

"Haruno? Are you alright?" The teacher, Kakashi, called up from the front of the class, a worried look on his face. A crying teenage girl in his class was something he did not want to deal with.

"May I b-be excused?" Sakura sniffed, rubbing at her eyes with her forearm.

As soon as Kakashi nodded, Sakura was up out of her seat and sprinting to the bathroom. As she left she vaguely saw Gaara and Naruto exchange a worried glance before Naruto remembered he wasn't talking to Gaara and looked away.

She locked herself in a cubical and cried until she could cry no more. Rubbing her eyes she unlocked the door and walked up to the mirror over the sink. Looking in the mirror she sighed at the very obvious red marks around her eyes. The whole school was going to know she had cried now. Not that the rumours about it wouldn't spread quickly any way though.

She remembered the last time a rumour about her had spread. Naruto had shouted at anyone who dared to come up to her to ask about it and Gaara had stood by his side glaring daggers, daring anyone to oppose them. She sighed sadly. There'd be none of that this time, and it was all her fault. With a determined look she brushed herself down. She was going to fix this. Somehow.

It was during lunch the next day as the three of them walked down the hallway, Sakura walking between the two boys. Naruto was talking away as usual but she couldn't help but notice he never once looked at Gaara. And Gaara, she noticed, was doing everything he could to catch Naruto's eye. But he could have danced in front of him wearing a chicken suit and Naruto wouldn't have even batted an eyelash. That was how stubborn the boy was.

Sakura gave a frustrated sigh. This was getting ridiculous. She halted suddenly and dragged the two of them into an empty classroom, kicking the door shut behind them.

"Alright," She gave an annoyed sigh, "You two need to make up and you're not leaving this room until you do."

"But Sakura-"

"Naruto. Don't." Sakura held up a hand. "Since it was me who caused this problem, I should fix it. So Naruto, please stop ignoring Gaara. He didn't do anything."

Gaara shifted uneasily. He didn't want to make Naruto talk to him if he didn't want to. No matter how much it hurt. He rubbed his hand over the 'Ai' scar on his forehead before running his fingers through his hair.

"Sakura… I… I don't mind… if Naruto hates me then…" He glanced at the blond, who had his back turned to both of them but was clearly listening.

"Ughh…!" Sakura balled her hands into fists in frustration. "Both of you look at me!"

The two boys turned to her, out of surprise more than the order, both wearing the same shocked but mildly amused expression.

"Right. Naruto. Gaara loves you. And Gaara. Naruto loves you. So stop this stupid game and effing kiss and make up!"

Naruto's look of shock turned into a soft smirk as Sakura finished her sentence. He glanced at Gaara, whose face was near as red as his hair, and steadily made his way over to him.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, right Gaara?"

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow in confusion. But before he could ask any questions Naruto had pulled him into his arms and planted a gentle kiss to his lips. Gaara stood in shock for a moment before he realised what was happening. Naruto was _kissing_ him. Naruto was kissing him because he _wanted_ to. With a smile against those soft lips Gaara kissed back. He tried to pour all his feelings into that one simple gesture. To show Naruto that he loved him more than anyone. That all that time he had been ignoring him had been torture. And Naruto received it. He understood every feeling Gaara had and as they pulled away he lightly brushed his thumb over the scar on Gaara's forehead, the one that he had put there during a time he believed he would never find love.

Sakura coughed awkwardly. She was glad for them, she really was. But she hadn't expected Naruto to actually kiss Gaara right then and there.

"God Naruto… it was just a figure of speech…"

Naruto grinned at her. "Well we made up right? So it doesn't matter."

She sighed and looked at the happy pair stood in front of her holding hands. And that was just it. They were happy. And she couldn't be more proud. She had finally accomplished what she set out to do in the beginning. Now all she needed was a boyfriend of her own… but she realised that could wait as Naruto held out his other hand for her. They were like the three musketeers, all for one and one for all. Inseparable. As long as they were all together she was happy.

And she thought to herself, maybe, just maybe, this was how things had been all along and they just hadn't noticed before.


End file.
